The Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission in a graduate management programme is few days away and the candidates have already started fastening their seatbelts to do the best they amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the CAT will be held on Sunday.

According to IIM Indore, the year 2020 saw a major decline in the number of CAT applicants from 2.44 lakh in 2019 to 227,835 candidates this year. Therefore, the difficulty level of the paper cannot be said beforehand due to the changed exam pattern and this is why the students must be prepared for everything.

Here are few last minute tips for the aspirants:

1. Revision is the key: Candidates should not start preparing any new topic in the last week. The time before the exam is for revision. It does not matter however hard you may have studied, everything is wasted if you do not revise all the topics at last. Revision is the key and do not forget to have a good night sleep a day before the exam.

2. Startegise: While attempting different sections of the paper, strategise and divide every section. All the sections are equally important and aspirants should not enter the examination hall without solving at least two to three mock papers.

3. Solve mock papers: Solving mock test papers will help to prepare and do well in any exam. Try to complete the papers in the time slot mentioned in your admit card.

4. Try getting a hands on experience of the online calculator. Even though using the calculator provided on the screen is a real task, try getting accustomed to it because some high order thinking and data interpretation questions will require the usage of the virtual calculator.

5. Do not sleep late: It is recommended not to sleep before exam. You need to be as fresh on the day of the examination and for that it is mandatory to take proper sleep and study well. It is advised that the candidates must stay away from social media as much as possible because it distracts the mind and hinders preparation.

6. Revise formulae and concepts: It is advisable to revise only the formulae and most important concepts in the last week of the exam. Do not spend time on things you never understood because nothing is going to happen in the last minute. Brush up the concepts you already know so that you are sure that you won’t make a mistake in those concepts at all.